Open Your Eyes
by Bopdawoo
Summary: Hyrule's Champion finds himself locked in a fight to the death with his greatest opponent yet: an evil copy of himself. Except, that's not what happens at all.


**Open Your Eyes**

**Hyrule's Champion finds himself locked in a fight to the death with his greatest opponent yet: an evil copy of himself. Except, that's not what happens at all.**

**Characters: Link, Dark Link**

**Rating: T**

**Genre: action, friendship**

**Length: ~3,000 words**

**hi i have a special weakness for clone characters**

… … …

Link should have listened to his gut instinct that something was _off _about this shrine.

Sheikah Shrines didn't just pop up out of nowhere, _especially _if he hadn't even done anything to cause its appearance in the first place. Still, when this one popped up in Hyrule Field he'd waltzed right in without a second thought.

All went well for the first few seconds: Link hopped off the elevator and gazed around, finding it to be similar in appearance to those 'Test of Strength' shrines. But when he expected the voice of an ancient monk to describe the challenge he should face he was met with silence, followed by the sound of the elevator leaving without him.

Alarmed, he peered up the shaft to find the platform long gone, leaving him trapped down there.

And then the calm blue lights of the shrine turned the sickly, angry fuschia color he'd come to only associate with the worst of the darkness that afflicted Hyrule.

The Champion drew the Master Sword as Malice began to bubble up through cracks in the floor panels, creeping across the floor towards him. He slashed at the tendrils as he looked for a weak point to attack but, try as he might, a slashing weapon was not very effective against slime.

Link cried out as Malice wrapped around his leg, burning as it tried to drag him down. He drove the sacred blade through the slime and it retreated with a hiss, but more took its place, grabbing his sword arm and dragging him to the floor.

He grit his teeth, falling to his knees and refusing to fall any further; his skin burned and prickled as he struggled against the tendrils of Malice further entrapping him.

As he tried to wrestle his arm away, Link noticed more Malice coalescing in front of him, building itself up into a dark form; at first he thought it was just a blob monster but it quickly took on defined limbs. As it became more detailed, Link realized with horror that it was becoming a mirror image of _himself._

He thrashed and tugged frantically to free himself, but the Malice held on tight. Beady yellow eyes and a sickening leer formed on the double's face.

One arm came free; a final thrash threw him out of the hold and he leapt away before the Malice could trap him again.

The double moved suddenly; his sword flew.

The holy blade cleaved straight through its chest, and it crumpled to the ground.

It did not stir.

Link leapt to his feet and charged forward, grabbing his sword and shifting to a ready stance.

The double's form lay on the floor, Malice oozing around a deep slash that nearly split its torso in two and made Link feel vaguely ill. Where the sword had touched the dark energy, it lit up with a crackling white-gold light that was quickly being overtaken as the wound sealed itself up. It left a pale scar in its place as the double's form suddenly twitched, becoming more solid and detailed.

Distantly, Link noticed that he wasn't being attacked by the ooze anymore; it seemed wholly focused on repairing the double's body, which began to seize and jerk as newly-formed muscles and tendons figured out how to work.

Link watched, and frowned.

His double, previously a formless blob of dark magic, looked indistinguishable from a regular Hylian now that it had absorbed the remainder of the Malice. It had individual strands of hair and messy fingernails much like his own (they _are_ his own) and wide fuschia eyes that flicked every which way as its lungs finally figured out how to drag a few breaths past its lips.

Slowly, the Champion lowered the Master Sword, watching light play off the blade.

This wasn't how his clone was supposed to be.

Ganon had the power to spawn monsters out of thin air, ready to bash his skull in without having been in the world for more than a moment. _Surely _his double should be the same way, engaging him in a bloody battle to the death and not laying on the floor twitching and gasping like a dying fish.

Link thought back to the light, and the scar, and realized that throwing the Master Sword through it had changed it, somehow—though exactly how he had no idea. He had a suspicion, though: he'd injured the double _as_ it was being formed, not _after_ it was completed. Perhaps that had affected how it formed.

The double tried to right itself, and its palm squeaked loudly against the floor tiles and it collapsed like a newborn fawn. The Hylian Champion was brought back to his first memories, of waking up in the Shrine of Resurrection and not knowing how to move right after one hundred years of slumber. He'd barely been able to navigate the room with his shaky, jerky limbs and clumsy movements. It took quite some time for him to relearn exactly how to move right, time that his enemies didn't give him.

Link could not- _would_ not, fight this fight.

Not when his intended opponent could barely stand.

The Hero sighed, and sheathed his sword.

The shriek of metal made the clone jolt and whirl around, fuschia eyes wide as he floundered to back away. Link couldn't tell if the fear in his eyes was because he _remembered_ being cleaved in half or if it was just because he'd suddenly realized he wasn't alone. The Champion sat down heavily, and ran a hand through his hair.

What would he do now?

He was trapped down here in a fake shrine, intended to die by the hand of an opponent who he was certain wouldn't fight him anymore.

He sighed and glanced over to his double, looking him over. He'd gotten himself sitting upright, at least, and peered back at Link from behind dark bangs. His clothes—black with fuschia detailing—were otherwise exact copies of the Hylian traveler's garb he wore currently. The dark fabric only made his pale skin appear even paler. And his eyes…

The moment they locked onto his own, they widened and he brought both arms over his chest. Right over where the Master Sword sliced him.

The Hero felt like he'd taken a blow to the gut.

Heroes shouldn't be feared; he needed to fix this.

Link took out his Sheikah Slate and began flicking through his supplies, looking for something that could help him show the clone that he was a friend. Eventually he materialized two apples in a swirl of blue light and stood, walking over to his double and noting how he tried to scoot away. He kneeled about a meter away, trying to make himself small and nonthreatening.

At first his hands twitched to set down the fruits and start signing, but on second thought he decided this was a matter best handled through spoken word. Voice soft, he asked, "Are you scared because I hurt you earlier?"

The clone paused with a look of surprise, like he hadn't been expecting such a question. He shifted, looked away, then gave a small nod.

Link felt a potent shame well up inside. Exhaled, inhaled, spoke again. "I'm sorry for hurting you, I really am," he said. "I got scared and acted impulsively, and I didn't think about what would happen when I threw my sword. But I promise I won't hurt you again." He held out one of the apples and bowed his head. "I hope you can accept my apology."

That was honestly a terrible apology, especially in light of something as awful as nearly cleaving his clone in half. He didn't _expect_ such an action to be forgiven, his clone had every right to hold a grudge against him for it, to retaliate, to—

And, despite this, he felt the weight of the apple leave his open hand.

Eyebrows shooting up in shock, Link met his clone's eyes very briefly before he looked down at the apple. He held himself tensely as he turned the fruit over in his hands and Link sighed quietly, not knowing how accepted his apology had been. Still, he would take no open hostilities as a win for now.

As he took a bite of his own apple, he resolved to prove to the clone that he was trustworthy.

Link happened to glance over at his clone, who was staring at him like he hadn't even _considered _eating the apple (Had he even initially registered the apple as a food item? How much about this world did he even know?). He watched him fumble with the fruit a bit, mouth working slightly like he couldn't decide whether or not to actually bite down. Then he abruptly took a bite that was almost too big, and Link had to stifle a laugh at the look of undisguised surprise that crossed the clone's face at his first taste of food.

They ate in silence after that and the clone ended up finishing his apple first—okay, Link had to stop him from devouring the core of the apple as well. After that, he looked like he didn't know what to do with himself. He looked around the featureless shrine, flexed his hands, shifted his limbs; if Link was being honest, he didn't know what to do with himself either. He'd never found a way out of a shrine that didn't involve either completing the designated challenge and talking to the monk waiting for him, or taking the elevator back up. And, well, this wasn't even a normal shrine to begin with; this was a trap set by Calamity Ganon.

And, Gods, he'd walked right into it. He was so stupid.

Link sighed and folded his arms on top of his knees, making a place to rest his chin. Would he be stuck down here forever? How would he save Zelda now?

Would he die down here?

He just wished for something to do, anything to take his mind off the current situation.

The timing of this would later lead Link to believe that somehow the shrine could read his mind, because the moment after the thought popped into his head, a deep, loud metallic grating suddenly reverberated through the empty room. Link shot to his feet as part of the floor began opening up, and what he saw crawling out was the most horrid amalgamation of Guardian Stalker and Malice he had ever seen.

Ancient Sheikah tech melded haphazardly with the slopping, oozing evil energy, looking like it was barely holding together. Metal joints creaked and Malice spurted out like pus escaping a wound, and the head rotated and a single slitted yellow eye focused on him. Link drew the Master Sword and shifted into a ready stance, only for the eye to drift to his right…

… and land directly on his clone.

The red targeting laser appeared on his chest.

His clone merely looked down and prodded the light, completely unaware of the danger he was in.

Link's legs moved, and he brought out his shield and leapt in front of the beam just as it fired.

The explosive force jarred his bones and singed his skin, throwing him backwards. He tumbled to a stop right next to his clone, whose fuschia eyes had gone wide.

Link handed him the still-smoking shield and said, "get up and use this to protect yourself. Don't let that beam hit you."

The clone gulped visibly, but stood shakily with him as he drew the Master Sword again. Link charged forwards with a holler, and the beady eye swung around to him; he hacked his blade through one leg and severed it. Malice spurting from the stump as it flailed and shuddered. Another leg swung at him and he leapt out of the way.

"I'm the one you want! Fight me, you coward!" Link leapt in for another blow, jabbing the sword through some of the Malice making up its main body. It twisted away with a mechanical wail, clawed legs snatching at him as he retreated again.

The moment he was out of range it turned its attention to the clone again, who ducked behind the shield. Link leapt in with another hack at its main body and it turned its attention back to him.

As he dodged a laser he wondered: why did it insist on targeting his clone? Was it because the clone hadn't fought him like it was intended to?

The momentary lapse in his thoughts was interrupted when one of the legs grabbed him by the chest; Link barely had time to react before he was bodily thrown across the shrine.

He tumbled to a stop, ribs aching from the mechanical claws, and looked up just in time to watch the monster fire at his clone.

"NO!" Link reached out _-he reached out for-_ and could only watch as the blast knocked his clone into the wall _-she hit the wall, crumpled to the ground- _and slumped to the floor.

He blinked the flashes of memories _(?)_ out of his eyes and charged, driven by an overwhelming surge of protectiveness for the little girl _(sister? cousin? friend?) _in his mind's eye, for the clone in the room with him. He slashed off another leg before hacking into the main body; it flailed and tried to move away but it was huge and slow and Link was bent on destroying it while he held the advantage. With a yell he drove the Master Sword straight through its eye, and it quaked and shrieked and flailed and finally stilled.

Link withdrew his sword and leapt away as it collapsed in on itself, Malice oozing onto the floor as metal groaned. He only watched it a second more to make sure it was truly dead before racing over to the fallen clone.

He threw the heavy shield off the unmoving body and placed an ear to his chest.

Lo and behold, a heartbeat.

Relieved, he gently shook his clone's shoulders.

"Wake up. Come on, open your eyes."

_-"please wake up, Aryll"-_

Link surprised himself with the sudden and intense concern he felt for the clone, especially considering what he'd been created to do. Half of his brain was telling him that he _shouldn't_ care, that befriending any minion of Ganon's was dangerous and that he should have just killed the clone before he got attached.

The other, more vocal, part of his brain screamed that _no, you protected him, you promised to earn his trust, you can't go back on that now._

That, and the clone had woken up a memory he hadn't recovered until now. This clone was important and he needed to fully understand how.

His clone stirred weakly and Link redoubled his efforts to wake him. "C'mon, open your eyes, I know you can."

_-she opened her eyes, a wave of relief- _an echoed voice in his head _-"Mom's gonna be so worried about us"-_

A sister!?—

His thought was cut off by a horrible grating noise; the clone flinched violently as Link whirled, ready to face an even worse horror from the depths of the shrine. But one look around the area nearly made his heart stop.

The shrine was _collapsing_.

Huge cracks split the floor and walls, chunks of the ceiling fell and shattered. Malice oozed down the walls and the elevator came crashing back down the shaft just as part of the floor caved in.

Calamity Ganon had intended this to be Link's final resting place, and Goddesses damn him if he couldn't accomplish that.

The clone gripped his hand with a terrified squeak, and Link squeezed back before scooping him into his arms and making a break for the elevator shaft. The hollow would offer them a little protection but he had a feeling the shrine would destroy itself and them with it regardless of where they were. He dodged in just as a hunk of ceiling shattered on the floor, using the shield strapped to his back to protect them both from flying debris. He hugged the clone close, who trembled and buried his face into Link's shoulder.

Certain these would be his last moments, Link looked up and sent a prayer to the Goddesses, apologizing for failing his mission twice in a single century.

From somewhere above, a pillar of warm light engulfed them, and he felt himself disappear.

When the world came back, Link realized that they were on a grassy hilltop under a tree. Where the false shrine had once been nearby was a rubble-filled depression in the ground. The sight was sobering, but for now Link felt the breeze and the sun in his hair and let out a joyous laugh; they were alive!

In his arms his clone stirred with a soft noise and Link loosened his grip.

"Hey, we're safe now. The Goddesses saved us." Fuschia eyes fluttered open, blinking against the bright afternoon sun. the clone gaped as he looked around, seeing Hyrule for the very first time. Link had to admit, for a first view of his home this was a pretty spectacular vista; the rolling plains surrounding them, the forests and sparkling rivers nearby, and the towering Dueling Peaks in the distance were all cast in the sun's warm glow.

Link took the moment to make a sweeping gesture to their surroundings and said, "welcome to Hyrule."

"_Hyrule,"_ repeated his clone, opening his mouth to speak for the first time.

Then his attention was drawn by a butterfly that fluttered nearby; Link outstretched one hand to let it land, and then brought it nearer so his clone could get a closer look at its brilliant orange and red wings. Ever so carefully, the clone lifted a hand to let the butterfly crawl on, not bothering to hide his amazement at the tiny bug.

"What's this?" he asked, mystified.

"That's a butterfly," Link explained. "There's lots of different kinds that come in different colors, and the ones that look like this are called summerwing butterflies."

"I like butterflies," his clone smiled.

Link nodded. For once the urgency of his ongoing quest felt rather far away, his mind occupied with his most current concerns. For one, he had taken on a companion; how this would affect his travels he had yet to know. Secondly, a facet of his elusive past had come to light: he had a little sister.

As much as he wanted to delve into that last one, for now the sun was so warm on his skin, and the breeze felt so nice, and his clone seemed so happy letting the butterfly explore his hands. So, Link leaned back against the tree they sat under, and they watched the world go by for a while.


End file.
